Hanson looked at the crowded room in front of him despite the late hour and shrugged his shoulders. “Alright one more,” he mouthed back.
"Alright, it’s getting late, we can only do one more song," Kai announced.
The crowd groaned.
"I know, I know, but even the wicked need some rest.” Kai winked at a beautiful girl who had been dancing quite expressively during their last song. "A request from the audience for our last?"
Several suggestions were shouted from the tables, with more than a few asking for very bawdy songs. Definitely had enough liquid courage for one night, Kai thought to himself, but he grinned at a few of the racier suggestions.
Then he saw her, and his heart skipped a beat. Long thin braids cascaded down onto her shoulders, framing broad, sparkling eyes. Her dark copper-brown skin glowed in the soft light of the tavern. She was the most beautiful woman Kai had ever seen – and then he recognised who she was … yet he knew he must be wrong.
Princess Echinni, the High King’s daughter, was here in the crowd!
Every eye in the small room was drawn towards her as if they all suddenly realised an angel walked among them.
Kai gestured wildly to Jachem in the direction of Princess Echinni. Her hand was held delicately in the air. She had a request!
Jachem didn’t see her so Kai raised his voice to cut through the now fading din. "Your Highness!” He felt his throat go dry as he tried to continue. His voice seemed awkwardly loud and silenced the crowd almost instantly. “What song would please you?"
Jachem finally recognised who she was and did his best to make a flourishing bow. Unfortunately, his cummerbund popped a button and burst forth under the strain of his generous belly. A man in the front row rubbed his head from the impact of the wayward button, but Jachem didn’t notice.
To her credit, Echinni did her best not to laugh, but Kai saw the hint of a suppressed giggle and a sparkle in her luminous eyes. I could die a happy man staring into those eyes, he thought.
Princess Echinni smiled happily as she spoke. "Dispense with the honorific for now, it makes me feel old; besides, this is your show.” Her smile enhanced her exotic beauty and stole more than a few breaths from the patrons of the Broken Clock.
“As you wish.” Kai grinned, hoping his boldness wasn’t going to get him hanged. Nobles could be prickly sorts, but he wanted to keep that smile on her face.
The smile crinkled a bit impishly as she eyed him from the floor. “I would request ‘The Silent Passenger’ if it pleases the audience, but to the beat and melody of your third song.”
Jachem appeared somewhat hesitant to agree as that combination was new to both Kai and himself, but Kai jumped in before Jachem could say anything rude and pinched his friend hard on the arm. "No objections.” Kai smiled roguishly as he surveyed the crowd. “Right, Jachem, you heard the beautiful woman!”
Kai was about to start the beat when the princess held up her hand again, making his drumsticks pause in mid downstroke. “If you don't mind, kind sir ...” She paused almost shyly. “… could I be so audacious as to request the singing role?"
Kai was awestruck. The Princess Echinni wanted to sing with them, on stage! He was glad there were witnesses; no one was going to believe this otherwise.
Then, to his horror, Jachem looked as if he was about to say no! A well-aimed drumstick caught Jachem in the ear, who whirled towards him – but all objections died on his lips when he saw the fierce look Kai was giving him.
"Of course. We would be honoured!" Kai threw another spare drumstick at Jachem and hissed at him so only the two of them could hear, “Stop it! Just go with it!” Now is not the time for your selfish antics, Jachem!
Kai laid down a marching beat on his snare drum as Echinni made her way through the crowd. It was a bit too forward for propriety, but he thought he saw that hidden smile of hers again, as the crowd parted to let her through. A princess who has a sense of humour? Who knows, maybe I’ve got a chance.
As Echinni stepped onto the stage Kai pumped his arms to get the young crowd excited again. The crowd was in a sort of trance.
Well, here we go. He gave a silent prayer to Halom and laid down the beat from their third song; Jachem joined in after a few bars with the guitar.
Then Echinni, the young Singer prodigy, began to sing.
The purest, most pitch-perfect notes Kai had ever heard filled the room. The combination of her haunting voice and the different pace to the song mesmerised the crowd into enthralled silence.
Fingers grasped for armrests as people leant forward, unconsciously trying to get just a bit closer. Tears began to glisten and breaths quivered as the painfully beautiful notes kept coming.
Every note echoed through the heart. They could all actually feel the fear of the unseen shadow carried by the man in the song. The lights seemed to wane and the air cooled as hairs rose on arms held in trepidation.
Echinni, though, was oblivious to the effects of her song. She was lost in it just as much as the crowd was. Her body shook with anguish as she sung of the shadow’s final attempts at the man’s life.
The song came to a close and Echinni raised her clutched her hands gently to her breast. Her voice trilled down to a quiet bass note.
The room was silent; no one wanted to wake from their reverie. Mouths hung agape and eyes shone unabashedly with tears.
Echinni curtsied shyly to Jachem, to Kai, to Hanson and then lastly to the audience. She quietly walked through the parting crowd with a contented smile on her face. The swishing of her skirt seemed to be the only sound in the room as the beautiful young woman made her way towards the exit.
What Kai wanted to say was echoed on every face in the room: Don’t leave! But he knew a request like that would be a step too far, no matter its reverent intent.
The most intimidating woman he had ever seen waited for Princess Echinni at the door. How he had not seen her before baffled him. She was at least head and shoulders taller than any man in the room. It was the one and only Yuna Swiftriver, another legend in her own right. Yuna Swiftriver had fought for House Mihane for years. She was rumoured to have quelled an uprising in the Blasted Isles single-handed, and was the wielder of the legendary sword Hunsa. Yuna was now the Princess’s personal bodyguard and her mere presence was supposed to be enough to deter even the most ambitious assassin.
Looking at her now, Kai felt that the stories didn’t do her justice. Intertwining black tattoos sat atop long thick muscles on her folded arms. Yuna scanned the crowd just as a mountain lion scans a flock of sheep. Her eyes waited for someone to detach themselves so she could sink her claws into them. Yuna carried the massive sword over one shoulder, a set of leather clips holding the scabbard in place. In a small space like this the giant blade would be difficult to draw and use. Which was most likely why her giant hands rested on the hilts of two of the daggers sheathed in a set of leather bracers strapped across her chest. Lethal proficiency radiated from the woman in waves.
Kai was suddenly extremely happy to be sitting on the other side of the inn from her.
Yuna waited for Echinni to make her way towards her, and no one dared move. Echinni must have sensed the tension. She turned in the doorway and again gave a shy curtsy. “Thank you very much for allowing me to sing. That was fun.” Then she smiled and walked out the door. Yuna’s massive form was not far behind.
It must have been nearly a minute before Kai finally spoke. “Hanson ...” The innkeeper’s face slowly swivelled towards him. Kai nodded dazedly. “I think we all need a drink after that.”
Hanson nodded and delivered the quietest round he’d ever poured.
***
Jachem was devastated. "We should have been the ones to have that effect on the crowd! What an exit! We were completely upstaged, Kai! How can you look happy!"
"That was Princess Echinni.” Kai shook his head again, still not quite believing what had just happened. “... and I’m glad because tonight is a night I will never forget.
It’s a night none of us will forget, and all these people will remember that it was the two of us who played the music for Princess Echinni’s song." Kai shook his head again. “I still feel like I’m in some sort of dream.”
Jachem's eyes suddenly lit up and moved back and forth a little too fast, giving him that look he got when he had one of his crazy ideas. "Yes, she can sing, can't she Kai! She can SING!"
"I know. Actually, I believe everyone in the room came to that same conclusion some time ago." Kai's eyebrow had snaked up on one side, and he feigned a look of concern. “Have you finally gone all the way round the bend, Jachem? I’ll see if I can get an appointment with Doctor Mayez to get you confirmed. It’s best to have these sorts of things in writing.”
Jachem, of course, completely ignored his attempt at humour. "She can sing in the band, Kai! With your drums, my ideas, my flair, my style, my guitar playing, and her singing, we'll be as great as the bands of the Jendar! We'll be known across all of the Shards! Maybe even all of Salucia!"
Kai knew there was no stopping Jachem now, even though Echinni had not the slightest interest in joining their band. Telling Jachem this, however, while he was in one of his delusional fervours, would only end up with Kai having to walk away in frustration. He might as well go with it as he and would never dissuade Jachem from trying. He sighed and lifted his hand towards the door. "Fine, let's go ask her then."
Jachem jumped out of his seat. "YES! Fame and Glory will be ours yet, my friend! Our angel of song has graced us with her presence and we shall grovel at her feet, imploring her not to abandon us in our hour of need!" Jachem grasped the front of Kai's jacket in a death-grip and thrust his maniacal face a hand’s width from Kai’s own.
"Or we could just ask nicely,” Kai said calmly, trying not to laugh. “Maybe leave out some of the stuff about fame and glory?" He slowly broke the vice-like grip on his jacket, and moved Jachem in the direction of the door. "Come on, let’s go or we'll lose her." He knew he would get no peace until this particular itch of Jachem’s was scratched.
"This way, Kai!" Jachem sprung into action and whirled towards the door, rolling through the crowd like a mad bull. He careened into a young man at the bar and spilled all the ales which must have just been purchased. Kai groaned as he saw that it was the muscular young Paleschurian who had cheered so enthusiastically for them at the start of the night. Anybody but him. Kai followed slowly in Jachem’s turbulent wake and went over to the young man to smooth things over.
“My apologies, friend, my flamboyant compatriot gets far too excited. What’s your name, I’ll get you a round the next time we see each other,” Kai said, hoping the stereotype about Paleshurians’ quick anger would not prove true.
“No need to apologise, your music was exactly what I needed tonight, made me forget some of my troubles. We’ll call the ale a sacrifice on Gideon’s altar of chance. I would gladly sacrifice some ale for some more of your music. But if you feel that guilty, I won’t turn down a free drink when it’s offered, drummer man. My name’s Matoh.” The large Paleschurian smiled a crooked half-grin and held out his hand.
Kai clasped hands and then slapped the broad shoulder of this new-found supporter. “I’m Kai. The drink is yours, friend; spread the word about our music, we’re called The Banditos! We could use some more avid enthusiasts like yourself!” Kai yelled as he tried to keep an eye on the fleeing Jachem. He saw Jachem clear the crowd and bolt out the door. Time to go. “But I have to run and catch up to my guitarist before he gets himself killed.”
Matoh lifted what remained of his tankard in the air as a salute. Kai nodded his thanks and then rushed out of the door into the night to catch up with Jachem in his headlong flight towards destiny … or possibly, and more probably … death.
16 - Into the Street - Echinni
It was the Raven who guided us out of our savagery.
Before Him and the Song, we were lost.
Stumbling in the darkness.
Hating those we called kin.
The Raven brought the light down to us,
So we might see.
The Raven opened the Song to us,
So we might hear.
And the Raven healed our hearts,
So we might love again.
- Singer prayer to Meskaiwa, The Raven, Tenets of the Elohim
The cobblestones glistened with the mist-like rain ebbing down from the night sky. Slow-burning lanterns and charged santsi globes, unique to New Toeron’s streets, gave the place a soft orange glow which was reflected off the wet stones underfoot.
The night was perfect.
“What fun!” Echinni said as she pulled her cloak tight and smiled up at the cool night rain. “No wonder people love going to pubs! We have to do that again.” She grabbed Yuna’s arm and pulled down hard. But as usual she couldn’t even budge it. Instead, Yuna lifted Echinni off the ground and walked for a few steps with the Princess hanging like a tiny child off her arm, before putting her down. Echinni saw the giant woman roll her eyes at the silly game they had played for as long as she could remember.
“Oh, don’t do that,” she said as she grinned up at Yuna, who was as close to a sister as she ever had. “We never get to do anything fun. Every night is practice and study and etiquette, or balls and fake smiling. That was real! With real people.” She spun in front of Yuna, dancing a few steps of the jig she had learned tonight. “And don’t say you didn’t enjoy it.”
Yuna quirked an eyebrow. “Enjoy it? I spent the whole night watching a room full of people and cataloguing the most efficient ways to get you out of there with minimal casualties. If they had discovered who you were, how many enemies might have been in attendance? How many citizens of the Union would I have had to maim and kill so we could escape? You even let that one man touch you.”
“He could have been my grandfather, Yuna!” Echinni danced a few more steps ahead on the glistening cobblestones, not caring at that moment how angry Yuna must be. “He wanted to teach me a jig! And I’m glad he did.”
“Just because he was old and smiled doesn’t mean he wasn’t dangerous,” Yuna growled. “The ones that smile are the worst of all.” Yuna’s look grew distant; the black tattoos around her eyes always made her glare incredibly frightening.
Echinni wondered what horrible person her bodyguard might be referring too. Yuna had been through a lot of war for someone so young. There had been years when Yuna had been gone, when Yuna had been so angry at Father and had to leave to find herself. But her giant sister had returned to them, so Echinni could, and always would, forgive her for her over-defensiveness and dark moods. The big woman didn’t have much in her life to make her happy, and Echinni made it one of her missions to change that. Besides, Yuna was only trying to protect her, and that was her job.
Echinni reached for Yuna’s hand, marvelling not for the first time at how her own still looked like an infant’s in comparison. “I know you were there to protect me. But I have to live my life as well. I can’t spend it trapped in the Red Tower all my life, and besides, didn’t you think I sang well?”
Yuna’s glare spoke volumes; it said, ‘Don’t try to charm me, little sister.’
Echinni gave Yuna’s hand a squeeze and stepped into rhythm beside her. “Alright, it wasn’t my best, but I was just so excited. And didn’t you think that boy was cute? The one playing the drums? And I noticed some big men looking at you a few times, probably wondering what you have under all that tight leather of yours.”
She danced away as Yuna swatted playfully at her.
“I’m serious. Some of them even had potential,” Echinni teased.
Yuna rolled her eyes again and went back to watching the street. That was Yuna, always alert, always on guard, waiting for something to pop out of the shadows.
Echinni watched her stalking the street behind her for a moment. She didn’t understand how Yuna seemed to have no interest in men. Yes, Yuna was taller and stronger than any man Echinni had ever seen, but she was still p
retty, albeit in a savage sort of way. Yes, she scowled a lot, but her eyes were of the deepest green, and she moved like no one else could move, like a graceful mountain. “You know, Yuna, you just might like the touch of a good man, and there were plenty in that pub who would have offered. You just have to be nice to them.”
Yuna pointedly ignored her comment, and Echinni knew she would get nothing more out of her bodyguard.
She thought back to the drummer of the band. His smile had made her stomach flutter and she had found herself appreciating his sculpted arms more than once. What would it feel like to have those arms around her? Echinni smiled. He hadn’t been the only one to eye her up either. The attention had felt good. She had felt like a woman rather than a political pawn. Felt like a girl flirting with boys, rather than smiling at enemies and allies because it was her duty to do so.
Her life wasn’t like the fairy tales; she had met real princes and kings. None of them looked at her with the same warmth as the drummer in the pub had. In her world, men saw her as the daughter of the High King, a means to an end. In that world, the glances of princes and kings were predatory, cold and calculating. They studied her as they would a chest of gold, or a treaty. She was a path to power for them.
But in that pub she had been a young woman, and it had felt like something she had been missing for a long time now.
Echinni knew she was supposed to be concerned with other things. Things like how to govern a union of strong nations, select economic principles, understand military strategy, debate religion, know how to manipulate people of power, how to play one nation off against another while gaining from both. All these things her father wanted her to know – but he didn’t understand what she wanted to learn. There was so much more to life than responsibility and duty, and Echinni had experienced so little of it.
Visions: Knights of Salucia - Book 1 Page 20
